Creating an Outlook backup strategy
There are many components that go into having a comprehensive backup strategy and unfortunately, many people focus on Outlook to the exclusion of all else. Various approaches are going to be reviewed from the most simplistic to a comprehensive system level approach.
Starting with the basic mistakes
- The biggest mistake people make is that they believe “exporting” an Outlook data file is a valid backup approach. There is seldom, if ever, the need to export an Outlook data file for the sake of “backup”. Outlook utilizes two types of data files (1) PST and (2) OST. The focus of this article is going to be on PST files. For more information regarding OST files see How to backup/recover Outlook .ost data files.
- The next biggest mistake is not copying all (or the right) PST files that may be required. This most common scenarios for this involves a PST file for an IMAP account in Outlook ‘2010 and earlier which use 2 PST files (1) for email data and (2) for the default contact/calendar folders which is typically located in a PST file named “Outlook Data File” if another data file wasn’t set as the default.
- Third mistake is not backing up <ALL> the required files that have been configured (and being used) in the Outlook profile. Too many suggestions keep referring people to the “default” locations where Outlook stores PST files when in fact, any PST file can be located anywhere on the hard drive. What’s important to know is (1) what pst files are configured in the profile (2) which PST files are associated with which email account and (3) which data file is set as the “default” for the profile since that’s where the default contact/calendar folders will be located.
Information as to how to definitively determine what PST files should be included in any backup see How to Find & Copy the Right Outlook PST Files. This presumes that you have access to the Outlook profile either via the Control Panel <Mail> app or Outlook itself. If the only thing available is the hard drive from a crashed system, as an example, then the two things that need to be done is to look at the default Outlook folder locations as well as search for PST files on the drive.
Manual versus automated backup approaches
There are endless backup programs available that do very similar things to those that are mentioned. This is not an attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of every program available nor does it mean that the programs not mentioned are any less capable. The programs mentioned here are those that are simply those used internally and known to work. Regardless of what program is selected, everyone should do their own due diligence prior to making any purchase to ensure that it’s one that you like and does what you want it to do. Bluntly stated, no matter what program(s) are mentioned, there are going to be those who like and dislike any given product and have their own preferences. The focus is not on the products but the methods used to create your own backup strategy.
1) The simple manual approach for PST files
Once you know what PST files you want/need to backup, all that’s required is using Windows File Explorer and copy the file(s) to any desired location. The important thing to remember is that Outlook should be closed when this is done or file corruption can result.
An alternative to this would be the free version of SafePSTBackup which will list all the PST files configured in the current Outlook profile which you can backup all at once to the selected destination location.
2) An automated approach
There is nothing natively available in Outlook that allows for the automated backup of PST files to take place. For this approach, a 3rd party product will be required.
Using the enterprise version of SafePSTBackup, it’s possible to set up the backup of all PST files on a automated scheduled basis so that you can set it and forget about it. One of capabilities of the SafePSTBackup Enterprise version is that it also allows for backing up of OST files by converting them to a PST file during the backup process.
Another type of program that serves a more comprehensive file backup function is SyncBackPro providing a litany of additional capabilities allowing you to include any kind of files with various options in terms of how the backup is completed such as mirroring and syncing. It also provides the ability for files to be copied even if those are in use via the “shadow-copy” method. In the case of Outlook, it means you don’t have to worry about whether or not Outlook is open when the backup runs. One of the benefits of SyncBackPro is that it will only copy files that have actually changed since the last time the function was run saving considerable amounts of time each time. It can be really time consuming the first time the backup/sync is run for something involving a lot of files using a lot of space. However, once completed, subsequent runs are dramatically faster unless every file involved has been changed.
One point to keep in mind, it is of no use to run an “incremental or differential backup” of Outlook data files. Every time Outlook opens, the file modification time stamp gets updated by Outlook as soon it opens and accesses the file. A modified time stamp is no indication that anything has actually been updated in the file itself. Also, employing a “continuous backup” (where every change made is copied to another device when it happens) is total overkill for the typical user. This article isn’t attempting to address enterprise grade requirements.
Outlook stores all of its data files in default locations which can vary with Outlook version and operating system. A summary of default locations for all types of Outlook data files used is described in Locating the Outlook data files.
PST files can be stored anywhere on your hard drive and do not need to remain in the default location chosen by Outlook. For those who are a little more technically adventurous and have a large primary drive, a good practice would be to split the hard drive into 2 or more “logical” drives (a logical drive = has its own drive letter but is physically located on the same drive) and use this logical drive for storing “data files” regardless of which program it’s form (i.e. Outlook PST, Word, Graphics etc) for any kind of program whenever possible. One of the primary benefits in this approach is that if your system ever crashes and needs to be restored, you don’t have to worry about restoring the mot current data files since these won’t be located on the primary system drive (drive <c:\> for the vast majority of people) which brings us to the next and final point in this summary overview.
Image backups – recovering from a disaster
Far too often people focus on backing up just one type of data (i.e. Outlook PST files) without considering what happens if there is a catastrophic event of any kind such as a total hard drive failure, virus attack corrupting the system drive, or computer gets lost or stolen etc etc. Starting from scratch is a very time-consuming process not to mention that it requires that you have the install files for all the programs you need to re-install with the corresponding license information – something far too many people may no longer have (or can find) after many years of operation. Also, re-installing a program from old install media may many additional hours to apply all the updates that have taken place since a program was originally released. The Windows operating system and MS Office suites are just two such examples.
An “image backup” is exactly what the name implies, it is a complete “bit-by-bit” backup of the drive saved to another location. Should a catastrophe occur, it’s a simple matter of restoring the image backup to the original drive and you can be back up and running in a matter of minutes (or a few hours for very large configurations) turning the “catastrophe” to nothing more than an “annoyance”. If your system is mission-critical to your daily activities, making/having an image backup should be considered a mandatory requirement
One of the leading programs that provides image backup functionality is Acronis True Image which allows setting an complete image backup to occur on a schedule of your choice enabling the image backup to be either <full> <incremental> or <differential>. Which type of image backup is best depends on the frequency it’s run and the amount of data involved. For the typical user, making a full image backup once a week or once a month is the simplest way to go from a recovery standpoint. Just need to set it to run at a time when the system is not in use (i.e. when you’re normally sleeping) and save the backup to an external hard drive. High capacity portable hard drivers (i.e. Western Digital Passport) are really inexpensive especially if you purchase then on sale which is a frequent occurrence.
Acronis True Image can also be used to create scheduled backups of specific files and folders, not just image backups. Using a combination of different backup types (image and folder/file) would be the optimum approach if this is the only program that is going to be used for back up purposes. One of the advantages is also that you can stipulate how many generations of backups will be maintained by the program
Testing the recovery process
Regardless of the backup approach(es) and program(s)used, many people create the backup but forget to do one very important thing which is to “test” the backup to ensure that everything worked correctly and the information can actually be restored properly should the need arise. Nothing should be taken for granted and you want to be sure you know how to go about a successful recovery when required. Ensuring that you know how to properly restore your data AND that it can be used, is something that should be done before a catastrophic event. There are countless posts in the Microsoft Answers forum from people stating that they restored their data from the cloud service being used (as a for instance) only to find out it didn’t work as expected for whatever reason.
Generational Copies – Backup rotation scheme
Even with the best laid plans, it is always good practice to maintain multiple backup copies for a period of time. A common description of this scheme is known as the grandfather – father – son system where each new backup results in previous backup to become an older generation until it gets deleted. How many generations (copies) is right depends on a number of different factors such as frequency, size, importance etc. The reason that this is an important approach to follow is because sometimes things can become corrupted and not immediately noticed. Or to put this more simply, if a file in the “son” generation is found to be defective for whatever reason, a working version may be accessible in an older generation.
Disaster Recovery Mental Exercise
It’s generally not a question of <if> you will ever encounter a problem, simply a matter of <when> and the when will seldom occur at what would be considered an opportune time. Just like car insurance, is purchased as protection against a possible accident, your backup preparedness should be considered in the same light.
A simple exercise to determine if you are comfortable with your “preparedness” – imagine being at the center of either of the following scenarios:
“The hard drive on your computer has failed and is completely unrecoverable”
“Your laptop has been stolen never to be recovered”
(1) Do you know what to do?
(2) Do you have everything you need to recover?
(3) How long will it take to become completely operational again?
Category: General Articles, Outlook - How To
